Ming Zuo

Chapter 19 Torture
"Where are the people?"

"Hidden in the outer city."

"Can you leave the city?"

"Young master doesn't know something. Now this city defense is useless. If you want to get out, there are ways."

Zuo Menggeng packed up the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, followed behind Zuo Fu, climbed the wall from the backyard and left Zuofu.

The layout of Linqing City is very different from all other cities.

It was originally just a county with a brick city.However, it later became a traffic hub, became increasingly prosperous, and was upgraded to state governance.

The population has swelled to one million, and the small brick city has long been unable to accommodate so many people.

So outside the brick city, the city of Luo was built.

Up to now, even Luocheng is not enough to live in, and more residents simply live outside the city.

This is also the inertia of the past dynasties. As long as the peace lasts for a long time, the city wall will become an obstacle.

Today's Brick City has become the residence of dignitaries and wealthy businessmen, and ordinary residents have moved to Luocheng and outside the city.

The Huitong River flows through the south of the brick city and meets the Wei River at the southwest corner.

However, in order to collect taxes on the banknotes, the government dug a waterway at the South Water Gate.

This waterway is different from the Weihe River, which flows to the northwest, but flows from the northeast. It connects with the Huitong River outside the south gate of Brick City.

In this way, Weihe and Huitonghe formed a triangular island in Luocheng.

It is also called Linqing Tucheng.

Linqing Chaoguan is on this island.

The purpose of this is to divert ships passing through the canal.

Otherwise, there will be too many ships going south and north, which will easily cause blockages.

After the diversion, the boats heading north took the Weihe River and went straight through the customs; the boats heading south, after passing the Beiqiaokou Pass, turned into the Huitong River, passed in front of the Chaoguan Yamen, and entered the Weihe River at the Nanshuimen Pass.

It can be said that Luocheng is the economic and living center of the entire Linqing, which is extremely lively.

The heavy traffic also caused no night ban in Linqing. The warehouses near the Shaoguan Wharf kept busy all night. Tens of thousands of stevedores loaded and unloaded various goods, which had to be transported away before dawn.

Under this kind of prosperity, the entry and exit of the city has become an urgent problem.

Brick City and Luo City are free to enter and exit, but if you want to go outside the city, you still have to pass the city defense.

However, a large number of workers live outside the city. For the convenience of entry and exit, a mysterious business has been born locally.

"Master, let's go to the Ruyi door."

Zuo Menggeng did not understand.

"What is a wishful door?"

Zuo Fu is actually very clear about these three sects.

"Go in and out, don't ask about life or death."

The two passed by the brightly lit Chaoguan Wharf, turning a deaf ear to the sound of Sizhu Mimi on both sides, and quickly turned into a secluded alley.

Not far from entering, a person flashed in the shadow beside him.

"A good friend asks for money or asks for directions?"

Zuo Fu casually threw a piece of silver over.

"Seek the way with money, and return home with peace of mind."

A wooden sign tied with a red flower was thrown over there.

Zuo Fu took it and continued to walk inside with Zuo Menggeng.

When he was about to turn a street corner, Zuo Fu took out two face towels from his arms and motioned Zuo Menggeng to cover his face.

"Why is this?"

"Ruyimen is only doing this in and out business. As for who is in and out, they don't care, they just need to give the money. It's a hassle. It's better for everyone to not know each other."

Zuo Menggeng groaned when he heard the words, but he did not expect that this underground business was quite rigorous.

The two of them covered their faces, walked out of the street corner, and within a few steps, a yard door next to them was pushed open, and a thin guy also covered his face and waved to them.

Zuo Fu went in, followed by Zuo Menggeng.

After entering the courtyard, the man led him into a room.It was empty and there was nothing inside.

The man walked to a wall and broke it with his hands, and the mud wall with no trace was turned over, revealing a dark and dark passage.

Zuo Fu still did not hesitate and walked in first.Zuo Menggeng had to keep up, but he was curious but couldn't see anything.

I thought that since it was a secret way, it must be dark and cramped.

But when he got inside, Zuo Menggeng realized that he was wrong.

This dark passage was wide enough for a horse to run, and the road was flat, and oil lamps were lit every few steps, illuminating it as if it were daylight.

After walking not too far, I saw two or three masked men with knives sitting quietly.

Thinking about it, it should be the master of maintaining order in this secret passage. If anyone dares to make trouble here, they will immediately be chopped into flesh with a mess of knives.

In the big night, it was obviously not only the two of them who walked through the Ruyi door.

The oncoming one was a convoy.About a dozen wheelbarrows were pushed, covered with cloth, and what kind of cargo was unknown.

Next to each car was a burly man, his hand on the handle of the knife at all times, ready to fight at any time.

When the two sides were staggered and passed, Zuo Menggeng collided with one of them.

The man was thin, rather soft, and the robe on his body was very luxurious.After being hit, he glared at him immediately, fearing that with a single order, those followers would burst into flames.

Zuo Menggeng cupped his hands, indicating a misunderstanding.

The man hummed softly.

"Be careful, let's highlight the tricks."

Although he tried his best to keep his voice down, it was still sharp and harsh.

Zuo Menggeng was reluctant to do much, so he apologized again and left with Zuo Fu.

The man stood there, his eyes always fixed on Zuo Menggeng.It wasn't until Zuo Menggeng was gone that he turned around and followed the team.

After walking a long way, Zuo Menggeng raised his palm and put it on his nose to sniff.

The pungent smell of gunpowder rushed into his mind, making him suspicious.

Who is it that transported so much gunpowder into the city at night?

That person is obviously a man, but the rich incense in his suit is even more excessive than the elder sister of the brothel.

Seeing the secret passage, Zuo Menggeng had no choice but to put away this suspicion.

The other end of the dark passage is already in the residential area outside the city.

It came out to be an inconspicuous residential house, and the outline of it could not be seen at night.I believe that you will search again during the day, I am afraid that it will be difficult to find.

Zuo Fu was the first to lead the way, and he turned around in the dwelling. Even if someone followed him, he was afraid that he would be lost.

Outside a courtyard, Zuo Fu pushed the door to enter, and after Zuo Menggeng entered, he closed the door again.Eyes stuck to the crack of the door and looked out for a moment, very cautious.

The sound of the door opening had already alarmed the room, Zuo Rong came out, and when he saw it was them, he brought in the room.

This is a two-entry private house, with all the pots, stoves and tiles on the outside and a kang on the inside.

On the ground in the middle, a person was firmly tied to a chair. He had already woken up at this time, but his mouth was covered with a rag, and he could not make any sound except whimpering.

It was the scent-smelling cultist who was knocked out by Zuo Menggeng during the day.

Seeing Zuo Menggeng come in, the man seemed to have lost all his strength and was suddenly paralyzed.

Zuo Menggeng walked over and pulled out the cloth ball in the person's mouth.

"Want to die, want to live?"

The man was breathing heavily, but his face was not afraid.

"If you want to kill or slash, please listen to your honor. Dog thief, the Buddha who burns the lamp will punish the immortals and avenge me."

Zuo Rong flew with a kick and kicked the person's stomach, causing him to spit out the bitter water.

"Master, hand him over to me, if you don't believe it, he won't be able to speak."

Zuo Menggeng's expression was flat, and he just said, "Open his mouth."

Zuo Rong and Zuo Fu went over, and the two worked hard together to pinch the man's mouth.

Zuo Menggeng held the cloth ball in his hand, opened it, twisted it into a long strip, and put it on the man's mouth.

"It's too late to say it now."

The man's head was restrained and he couldn't move.Looking at the cloth strip, his eyes are disdainful.

Without any hesitation, Zuo Menggeng stabbed the cloth directly into the man's mouth.

The strip of cloth quickly pierced into the throat, and the dry and rough surface rubbed against the delicate surface of the throat, causing the man to twist immediately.The body was shaken like an electric shock, his face quickly turned red, and his eyes turned white and nearly fainted.

The most uncomfortable thing was the overwhelming discomfort in the stomach and intestines. The pungent smell bucked the trend, but it was blocked again, and his heart was about to explode.

Zuo Menggeng waited for thirty breaths before pulling out the cloth strip.

The man immediately turned into a shrimp, and the sound of retching was mixed with a sour smell, and the mouth and nose were full of disgusting yellow water.His eyes were also covered with hot tears, and he could not recover for a long time.

Looking at this man's tragic state, Zuo Rong and Zuo Fu only felt numb in their hearts, and they didn't dare to look at Zuo Menggeng.

Where did the young master learn such terrifying punishments?
Zuo Menggeng did not feel that he had done something great, but said, "Come again."

Zuo Rong and Zuo Fu hurried up again and opened the man's mouth again.

Zuo Menggeng replaced the cloth with a clean end and stabbed it in his mouth again.

After this time, the man was even more unbearable, and spit out the residue in his stomach.The stench of gastric juice reached the ground from his mouth, but he didn't even have the strength to spit it out.

Zuo Menggeng threw away the cloth strip, turned around and went back to find a clean cloth.

"Open his mouth."

The man looked extremely frightened, swayed back and forth frantically, and howled dryly in his mouth.

"Forgive my life... spare my life, I said... I said everything... woo woo woo..."

Such a big man, his appearance after a complete collapse is not as good as a dog.

(End of this chapter)